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Adirondicka
Adirondicka - lying north of Marujai and west of Arlaven - is a coastal nation known for its sprawling, mountainous woodlands and giant redwoods – wide, tall trees which easily reach over 800 feet in height. As opposed to being a formal kingdom, Adirondicka is composed of a number of ‘parties’, small village clans with a similar over-arching culture but distinct differences, these groups most easily delineated by the color of their suspenders. While Adirondicka is best known across the continent for its strong and hardy redwood and the people who chop it (which, if properly treated, can be as strong and hardy as any iron alloy), peoples besides lumberjacks and lumberjlls stomp through the valleys and forests. Many classes of people hail from its woodsy ranges, from trackers and warriors to simple farmers and fishermen. While the larger society is egalitarian as a whole, social differences have arisen over time between the various clans. Though it is primarily a human nation, other races are occasionally drawn to the Adirondicka way of life. Occasional mingling occurs between the people of Andirondicka and Arlaven, as their common respect for nature permits for warm yet reserved - trade relations. Adirondicka warriors are known for their fierceness, as well as their ability to utilize the natural environment to fight more effectively, most clearly demonstrated in the War of the Pines between Faidor and Adirondicka approximately 23 years ago. Bear-kin Not much is known about the bear-kin of Andirondicka, besides their strange manners of speech and large personalities. Self-governing and possessing a sophisticated social structure, rumor has it that some small bands have been seen traveling beyond the boundaries of their native lands. Regional Conflict There is a great deal of strife between the Bear-kin – the native people of the land - and the Adirondicka men. The bear-kin, as they are most commonly called, are the native peoples of this ragged and uncivilized country. They themselves live in elaborate cave complexes which stretch deep below the land but above the Underdark. While being primarily cave-dwellers, the bear-kin frequently go above ground to range and hunt in the verdant forests of their native land. Since being pushed underground by the conquering human tribes hundreds of years ago, they have been in a state of open war, occasionally raiding human settlements, burning and pillaging and occasionally kidnapping children. Most of these kids are never recovered, but are occasionally glimpsed amongst Bear-kin raiding parties - speaking in a strange accent and covered in hair and war paint. Very few have wandered into these cave systems, but the ones who made it back described winding tunnels which seemed to serve as roads and villages inside of caves. History : Hundreds of years ago, humans migrated to Andirondicka in pursuit of it's rich resources and sprawling, untamed lands. This tribe was formed up of a subset of a larger tribal population, kicked out for being silghtly too civilized to meet the standards of the savage barbarian culture. Besides being known for their strengh, these settlers excelled in hunting and gathering - something which they began in earnest as they started the process of exploring this new part of the continent. They quickly came into contact with native Bear-kin, and mistaking them for wild animals began hunting them - soon all hell broke out, and gathering efforts intensified. Forrests were rapidly cleared and the bloodshed never seemed like it would stop. Over time plant monsters began to arise from the forrest, but were quickly dispatched by the raw strengh of the human invaders. : Three years into the conflict, victory seemed impossible. In a moment forever memoralized in Andirondack folklore, two ents arose from the forrest and laid waste to both factions, pushing them both to the brink. The Battle of the Red Banks saw over 300 humans and innumerable bear-kin fell that day, and at that moment the dryads stepped in to mediate the conflict. At first they went to the bear-kin, who refused any compromise - this was their land, and they would not stop until the humans were driven off. They then went to the humans, who, in desperation, listened to the plant creatures. The dryads taught them how to live peacefully with nature, which quelled the vine monsters - and taught them how to better utilize the land without destroying it. With this advantage they swiftly drove the bears back into their winding cave habitats and for a short while lived in harmony with the dryads. Over time the Andirondack men and the dryads grew apart as clans formed and more closely defined cultural groups emerged. Rumor has it that one clan still lives in harmony with the dryads, but that is simply rumor and nothing more. : In the modern age, dryads are viewed as supernatural otherwordly beings. Most Andirondack men only hear of them in tales to scare them into good behavior and murmurings around the campfire at night. Sometimes they are spoken of as mediators, other times as terrible monsters which only the bravest of heroes could overcome. All that is known for sure is that the peoples of this country credit the ancient dryads for helping to define their way of life and revere them for favoring them over the bear-kin. There are rumors that some of these creatures have been spotted mingling with the other humanoid races, but few can say what this means, or if it will last. Clans Category:Places